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Middle School Climate Education

This is a curated collection of resources that aim to teach about Earth's climate for middle school students. 

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Adapting to climate change
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This video uses Bangladesh as a case study by describing climate change adaptation strategies being implemented in Bangladeshi communities as well as in other countries.

Subject:
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
The Economist
Date Added:
09/24/2018
America's Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change
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This video production is a part of a four-panel report from the National Academies' America's Climate Choices project. The video maps out the realm of our accumulated knowledge regarding climate change and charts a path forward, urging that research on climate change enter a new era focused on the needs of decision makers.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
National Academies
Date Added:
09/24/2018
At the Core of Climate Change
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This video shows where and how ice cores are extracted from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The cores are cut, packaged, flown to the ice core storage facility in Denver, further sliced into samples, and shipped to labs all over the world where scientists use them to study indicators of climate change from the past.

Subject:
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Physical Geography
Archaeology
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
KQED
Teachers' Domain
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Beetle Outbreaks and Climate Change
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This interactive shows the extent of the killing of lodgepole pine trees in western Canada. The spread of pine beetle throughout British Columbia has devastated the lodgepole pine forests there. This animation shows the spread of the beetle and the increasing numbers of trees affected from 1999-2008 and predicts the spread up until 2015.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Ecology
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
American Museum of Natural History
Date Added:
10/27/2014
The Carbon Cycle and its Role in Climate Change
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In this activity, students use a physical model to learn the basics of photosynthesis and respiration within the carbon cycle.

Subject:
Environmental Studies
Biology
Physical Science
Chemistry
Geology
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
United States Global Research Program
Date Added:
11/07/2012
Changes Ahoof: Could Climate Change Affect Arctic Caribou?
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Students run a simplified computer model to explore how climate conditions can affect caribou, the most abundant grazing animal in the Arctic.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Ecology
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Climate Change 1958: The Bell Telephone Science Hour
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Bell Telephone Science Hour produced this video in 1958, explaining how the production of CO2 from factories and automobiles is causing the atmosphere to warm, melting the polar ice caps, and causing the sea level to rise.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Oceanography
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Bell Telephone Science Hour
Frank Capra
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Change Basics
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The video offers a simple and easy-to-understand overview of climate change. It poses basic questions such as 'What is it?' and 'How will it effect us?' and effectively answers those questions.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Date Added:
10/27/2014
Climate Change Impacts Alaska Glaciers
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Educational Use
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This video adapted from KTOO takes a look at Earth's warming and cooling cycles and the current atypical trend of warming that is impacting the glaciers in Alaska's Inside Passage.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Ecology
Forestry and Agriculture
Material Type:
Lecture
Provider:
PBS LearningMedia
Provider Set:
PBS Learning Media: Multimedia Resources for the Classroom and Professional Development
Author:
National Science Foundation
WGBH Educational Foundation
Date Added:
11/04/2008
Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity
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This video documents the effects of increasing global temperatures on biodiversity (changes in distribution, range, and numbers) and human populations. Adaptations to climate change are also outlined.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Ecology
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Convention on Biological Diversity
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Change Indicators: US and Global Temperature
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This resource is part of a collection of visualizations that illustrate observed changes in temperature, precipitation, storms, floods, and droughts. This resource focuses on US and Global temperature. Rising global average temperature is associated with widespread changes in weather patterns. Scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change. The larger collection includes climate change indicators within the oceans, snow and ice, and other ecosystems and the effects on humans and our society.

Subject:
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Environmental Protection Agency
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Change, Land Warming, and Wildfires
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Educational Use
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How does climate change lead to an increase in size, intensity, and frequency of wildfires in California? Students will use the phenomenon of wildfire intensity increasing in California to explore the causes, effects and solutions to climate change in California.

Subject:
Atmospheric Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Provider:
U.C. San Diego
Provider Set:
Climate Champions
Author:
Cindy Jenson-Elliot
Tina Tom
Date Added:
04/27/2022
Climate Change and Arctic Ecosystems
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In this activity, students learn about how climate change is affecting the Arctic ecosystem and then investigate how this change is impacting polar bear populations. Students analyze maps of Arctic sea ice, temperature graphs, and polar bear population data to answer questions about the impact of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Ecology
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Project Activities for Conceptualizing Climate and Climate Change
Purdue University
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Climate Change and Water
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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Climate Change and Water - Perspectives from the Forest Service is a summary of a forthcoming report by the Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture which will detail the likely impacts of climate change on the Nation's forested watersheds and highlight the importance of managing forests to provide clean, abundant water.

Subject:
Atmospheric Science
Material Type:
Reading
Provider:
U.S. Forest Service
Date Added:
06/01/2008
Climate Change and the Global Ocean
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Video presents a broad overview of what (NASA) satellites can tell us about how climate change is affecting oceans.

Subject:
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Jennifer A. Shoemaker
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Date Added:
10/27/2014
Climate Change as Simulated by NCAR
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This animation depicts global surface warming as simulated by NCAR's Community Climate System Model (CCSM) Version 3. It shows the temperature anomalies relative to the end of the 19th century, both over the entire globe and as a global average. The model shows the temporary cooling effects during 5 major volcanic eruptions and estimates future temperature trends based on different amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

Subject:
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Physical Geography
Archaeology
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Change at the Doorstep
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This PBS video focuses on sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia and how the residents are managing the logistical, financial and political implications. Science journalists who have been studying Norfolk's rising sea level problems are interviewed, as well as local residents who are being impacted.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Oceanography
Economics
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
PBS
Date Added:
08/17/2018
Climate Change in a Bottle: Overview Part 1 of 4
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CC BY-NC-ND
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Suney Park wants her students to know that what they learn in class is relevant to their lives and the world. In this introduction, she shows us how her students come up with a plan to recreate the Earth and its atmosphere and test their own hypotheses about rising CO2 levels.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Education
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Provider:
Teaching Channel
Provider Set:
Teaching Channel
Author:
Suney Park
Date Added:
11/02/2012
Climate Change in a Bottle: The Experiment Part 4 of 4
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CC BY-NC-ND
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Suney Park's hands-on activity has her students making the greenhouse effect happen in a model. Using a light bulb for the sun, they create different control groups that imitate Earth's atmosphere with the help of a soda bottle. This adds up to a meaningful experience that connects what students learn in class to real-world events.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Education
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Provider:
Teaching Channel
Provider Set:
Teaching Channel
Author:
Suney Park
Date Added:
11/02/2012
Climate Change in a Bottle: The Lesson Part 2 of 4
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CC BY-NC-ND
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After a month studying climate change, students create models of the earth and its atmosphere, and design experiments to test the variables involved in climate change. Students write their own driving questions, develop hypotheses, and build the models to use in their experiments.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Education
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Provider:
Teaching Channel
Provider Set:
Teaching Channel
Author:
Suney Park
Date Added:
11/02/2012
Climate Change in a Bottle: The Set-Up Part 3 of 4
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CC BY-NC-ND
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Suney Park has her class of scientists set up their experiments step-by-step. Even though it can be chaotic and mistakes can be made, there is purpose and meaning to having the kids be responsible for all aspects of the experiment and the learning that goes on in that process.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Education
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Provider:
Teaching Channel
Provider Set:
Teaching Channel
Author:
Suney Park
Date Added:
11/02/2012
Climate Heroes: Stories of Change
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This documentary film takes the viewer on a virtual trip around the world to visit communities in different countries (Asia, Africa, Central America, Australia) taking action on climate change. The documentary weaves together nine inspiring stories, showing that action on climate change is creating jobs, improving lives and turning dreams of a better future into reality.

Subject:
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Momentum for Change
United Nations Climate Change Secretariat
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Kids: Birds and Climate Change
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Some bird species appear to respond to extreme weather changes in their native habitat by moving to more hospitable environments. This article discusses the role of NASA satellites, along with field and citizen scientists, in studying that movement. The article also includes an activity on constructing a bird feeder. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Subject:
Life Science
Ecology
Forestry and Agriculture
Atmospheric Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
NASA
Provider Set:
NASA Wavelength
Date Added:
11/05/2014
Climate Kids: How Do We Know the Climate Is Changing?
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This question is addressed through a series of questions and answers, each providing related introductory information such as how climate change is studied, the history of Earth’s climate, and the effects of climate change on Earth’s geology and biology. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Subject:
Life Science
Ecology
Forestry and Agriculture
Atmospheric Science
Chemistry
Material Type:
Lecture
Provider:
NASA
Provider Set:
NASA Wavelength
Date Added:
11/05/2014
Climate Kids: What is Global Climate Change?
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A question and answer format is used to differentiate between weather and climate, and to provide a brief overview of global warming. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Subject:
Ecology
Forestry and Agriculture
Atmospheric Science
Material Type:
Lecture
Provider:
NASA
Provider Set:
NASA Wavelength
Date Added:
11/05/2014
Climate Science in a Nutshell: Climate Change Around the World?
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This video is part of the Climate Science in a Nutshell video series. This short video looks at the effects of climate change happening right now around the globe, including: more extreme weather events, droughts, forest fires, land use changes, altered ranges of disease-carrying insects, and the loss of some agricultural products. It concludes with a discussion of the differences between weather, climate variability, and climate change.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Planet Nutshell
Utah Education Network
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Climate Wisconsin: Stories From a State of Change
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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This video provides background information and teaching tips about the history and relevance of phenology and seasonal observations of plants and animals within the context of rural Wisconsin.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Ecology
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Climate change: How do we know?
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This static graph of changes in CO2 concentrations goes back 400,000 years, showing the dramatic spike in recent years.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Physical Geography
Archaeology
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
NASA
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date Added:
10/27/2014
Cool Cores Capture Climate Change
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter is a detailed computer-based exploration in which students learn how various climatic conditions impact the formations of sediment layers on the ocean floor. They analyze sediment core data from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica for evidence of climate changes over time. In addition, they interact with various tools and animations throughout the activity, in particular the Paleontological Stratigraphic Interval Construction and Analysis Tool (PSICAT) that is used to construct a climate change model of a sediment core from core images.

Subject:
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Oceanography
Physical Geography
Archaeology
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Earth Exploration Toolbook/TERC
Jean Pennycook
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Coping With Climate Change: Green Roofs of Chicago
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A set of eight photographs compiled into a series of slides explain how urban areas are facing challenges in keeping both their infrastructure and their residents cool as global temperatures rise. Chicago is tackling that problem with a green design makeover. This report is part of PBS's Coping with Climate Change series and could challenge students to consider engineering designs to help their own cities be greener.

Subject:
Physical Science
Material Type:
Simulation
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Newshour
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Dendrochronology - Trees: Recorders of Climate Change
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In this activity, students are introduced to tree rings by examining a cross section of a tree, also known as a 'tree cookie.' They discover how tree age can be determined by studying the rings and how ring thickness can be used to deduce times of optimal growing conditions. Next, they investigate simulated tree rings applying the scientific method to explore how climatic conditions varied over time.

Subject:
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
NCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Displacement in the Face of Climate Change
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Educational Use
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In this unit, students will analyze how climate change affects migration around the world and the policies that could be effective in addressing the issue. To start, students will investigate what motivates people to move in general. Then students will read “The Great Climate Migration” by Abrahm Lustgarten and Meridith Kohut, where they will be introduced to how climate change may affect migration in the future. Students will then investigate how climate change is impacting migration by reading and presenting about specific scenarios around the globe. Finally, students will begin to research how policy can address climate migration to avoid disastrous outcomes in the future.

Subject:
Social Science
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Pulitzer Center
Author:
April Wallace
Date Added:
07/22/2021
Does Climate Change Cause Extreme Weather?
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This video provides a good introduction to the field of attribution science. Beginning with an introduction to weather and climate, it describes how severe weather might be linked to climate change and the science behind attribution studies. It gives a good explanation behind how scientists use climate models to study whether severe weather events were influenced by climate change. It also discusses the question, "does climate change cause extreme weather?" and provides an introduction to the concepts of probability, causation, and correlation in regards to attribution science (how much climate change influenced an event verses normal variations in weather).

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Above the Noise
KQED
Date Added:
09/24/2018
The Ecology of Climate Change
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
Rating
3.0 stars

This video focuses on the conifer forest in Alaska to explore the carbon cycle and how the forest responds to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Topics addressed in the video include wildfires, reflectivity, and the role of permafrost in the global carbon cycle.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Ecology
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
American Museum of Natural History
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Energy Choices and Climate Change
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
Rating
0.0 stars

This interactive provides two scenarios for students to look at issues related to energy and climate change: from the perspective of either a family, or a monarch.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Material Type:
Simulation
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
NCAR Online Education
Windows to the Universe
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Envisioning Climate Change Using a Global Climate Model
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
Rating
0.0 stars

This long classroom activity introduces students to a climate modeling software. Students visualize how temperature and snow coverage might change over the next 100 years. They run a 'climate simulation' to establish a baseline for comparison, do a 'experimental' simulation and compare the results. Students will then choose a region of their own interest to explore and compare the results with those documented in the IPCC impact reports. Students will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the process and power of climate modeling.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
and team of scientists and educators
Betsy Youngman
Earth Exploration Toolbook Chapter from TERC
Date Added:
06/19/2012
Expecting the Unexpected: Abrupt Climate Change
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In this video scientists discuss possible rates of sea level rise, storms and resulting damage, rising temperatures and melting ice, and their collective effects on ecosystems.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Yale Climate Forum
Date Added:
09/24/2018
Exploring NCAR Climate Change Data Using GIS
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
Rating
0.0 stars

This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter uses ArcGIS and climate data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate Change Scenarios GIS Data Portal to help users learn the basics of GIS-based climate modeling. The five-part exercise involves calculating summer average temperatures for the present day and future climate modeled output, visually comparing the temperature differences for the two model runs, and creating a temperature anomaly map to highlight air temperature increases or decreases around the world.

Subject:
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Physical Science
Atmospheric Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Provider Set:
CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
Author:
Cathy Reznicek
Constantin Cranganu
David Smith
Earth Exploration Toolbook
Jennifer Boehnert
Lawrence Buja
Michele Thornton
Olga Wilhelmi
Date Added:
06/19/2012